Reflections on 1 Samuel 16
How God delights to call and use the most unexpected people—supremely seen in the Lord Jesus Christ, our unexpected Saviour.
We all have different points of view.
We can watch the same soccer match and come away with completely different analyses. We can read reports of the same event from different media outlets and get very different interpretations. We all look at life through our own lenses—young or old, conservative or liberal, resourced or under-resourced.
Not only do we see things differently; we judge things differently too.
We are impressed by appearances. We draw conclusions based on outward show, and often we get it badly wrong. A confident businessman may be a crook. A beautiful house may be riddled with termites. An upmarket restaurant may have cockroaches in the kitchen.
Human beings typically judge using superficial criteria.
God does not. This is one of the great lessons of 1 Samuel 16.
Israel’s first king, Saul, had been rejected by God because Saul had rejected God’s Word. Saul thought he knew better than God—a dangerous place for anyone to be. The kingdom seemed to be heading toward disaster. What would happen to God’s people? Would God abandon them?
The answer is a resounding no. God, in His kindness, had provided another king.
The Unexpected Choice
When God sends Samuel to Bethlehem, He tells him:
“I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
Those words are significant.
Saul was the king the people wanted. He looked the part. He was tall, impressive, handsome, and outwardly kingly. But appearances had proven deceptive. Now God would provide a king according to His own purposes.
When Samuel arrives at Jesse’s house, he immediately falls into the same trap we all do. He sees Eliab, Jesse’s eldest son, and thinks, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed.” Eliab looked exactly like the kind of king people would choose.
But God says no.
“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
It literally says “for the Lord SEES not what man SEES for man SEES with reference to the EYES (i.e. man’s eyes), the Lord SEES with reference to the HEART (i.e. God’s heart).”
Contrary to the popular understanding of this verse, God says that he doesn’t see like we see (i.e. outwardly) but sees according to His heart or His will or His purposes. This verse it is talking about God’s heart not David’s heart.
The point is not that David had an unusually pure heart. David’s heart was just as sinful and wayward as every other human heart. Cf. Romans 3:10-12
The point is that God does not choose according to the criteria that impress us. God chooses according to His own heart.
This is deeply encouraging.
If God’s choice depended on our achievements, abilities, status, education, wealth, or moral performance, none of us would stand a chance.
The Bible teaches that our deepest problem is not our circumstances but our hearts. Left to ourselves, we want to run our own lives rather than submit to God. Religion says, “Do these things and get right with God.” The Bible says that no amount of good deeds can change a rebellious heart.
We need God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
A pirate may scrub the deck, share his food, and be polite to the crew. But he is still a pirate. Good behaviour cannot change his identity. In the same way, our good works cannot solve our deepest problem. But God can.
This is why God’s choice of David is so surprising. After seven sons pass before Samuel, none is chosen. Finally Jesse mentions one more son almost as an afterthought.
The youngest and a sheep herder. The insignificant one left out in the fields.
Shepherding was hardly a glamorous occupation. It was dirty, lonely work. David was so unimportant in Jesse’s eyes that he wasn’t even invited to the sacrifice. Yet when David arrives, God says:
“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
A shepherd boy from a small town becomes Israel’s greatest king. Who would have expected that?
And who would have expected that God would call and use ordinary people like us for His purposes? God often delights to work through the unexpected.
The Enduring Spirit
How do we know David would be different from Saul? Because God gave him something Saul ultimately lost.
“The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.”
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s Spirit often came upon leaders temporarily to empower them for particular tasks. But with David something remarkable happens. The Spirit comes and remains. God’s chosen king is empowered by God’s own presence.
David would not succeed because of natural ability, military brilliance, or personal charisma. He would succeed because God was with him. And this points forward to an even greater reality.
In the New Testament, God’s Spirit is not given merely to a few chosen leaders. Everyone who trusts in Christ receives God’s Spirit. He comforts us, strengthens us, helps us fight sin, and enables us to live for Christ.
That is wonderful news because many Christians feel weak, inadequate, and unqualified. And so we should.
The truth is that God has always worked through weak, unexpected people. The same God who turned a shepherd boy into a king is still able to use ordinary believers today.
The Effective Ministry
The final section of the chapter contains a wonderful irony. The rejected king ends up depending on the chosen king.
Saul is tormented, while David is brought in to serve him through music. Whenever David ministers to Saul, relief comes. Why?
Ultimately, not because of the style of music, but because God’s Spirit-filled king is present. The chosen king brings peace where there was torment.
The pattern is preparing us for someone greater.
Hundreds of years later, we find ourselves once again in Bethlehem. Another unexpected King arrives. Not in a palace, but in a stable. Not welcomed by the powerful, but by shepherds. Not surrounded by earthly glory, but born in obscurity.
And when Jesus is baptised, we read:
“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him” (John 1:32).
Just as the Spirit remained on David, so the Spirit remains permanently upon Jesus.
But Jesus is far greater than David. Jesus is great king David’s is Greater Son. Jesus lives in perfect obedience to God’s Word. He heals the sick, raises the dead, casts out tormenting demons, and teaches with divine authority.
Then comes the most unexpected moment of all. The King goes to a cross. To human eyes, it looks like defeat. It looks like weakness and failure. The enemies of God seem victorious.
Yet at the cross, Spirit-filled King Jesus achieves His greatest triumph. By His death He defeats sin, death, and Satan. By His resurrection He conquers the grave and secures eternal life for His people.
The ministry of Jesus is infinitely effective because He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He changes hearts. He forgives sins. He reconciles us to God. He gives us His Spirit. He keeps us secure forever.
The unexpected shepherd king of Bethlehem was always pointing forward to the unexpected Saviour from Bethlehem.
Where Is Your Trust?
1 Samuel 16 confronts us with an important question.
Whose point of view are you listening to? Are you trusting in yourself to overcome sin, death, and Satan? Or are you trusting in God’s unexpected King?
Human judgment is often wrong. We are impressed by appearances. God sees according to His perfect wisdom and purposes.
The world looked at David and saw a shepherd boy, but God saw a king. The world looked at Jesus and saw a crucified man, but God provided the world with it’s Saviour. And because Jesus is God’s chosen King, we can trust Him with complete certainty.
Not only is Jesus the unexpected King, but he also saves unexpected people—and uses them for His glory.